The Scarlet River
by WyldeHeart
Summary: Through determination and a rather luckily memorized shield spell, the Whitechapel gang are able to survive the threat of the Lucifractor, along with Jesse. Within a few weeks things seem to be returning to normal. Unfortunately, there are some unfinished plans that still need to be carried out.
1. Reconciliation

It had been nearly three weeks since the incident with the Lucifractor. Three weeks since any incident in general. The blast had been chalked up to be some sort of shifting of tectonic plates directly beneath the town, something the townsfolk had lapped up in a second. No matter how many times it happened, Ethan would never be able to understand people's ability to ignore what was directly in front of them. Not that he was complaining.

Ethan peered out of the corner of his eye at the two girls talking a few lockers down. Sarah and Erica. He sighed deeply as he pulled a worn text book from his locker, not even bothering to check if it was the correct one.

Benny nudged him gently in the shoulder, "Just talk to her." He nodded in Sarah's direction.

"I told you, after that date Sarah and I agreed to just be friends." Ethan murmured solemnly, tearing his gaze from the brunette.

Benny rolled his eyes before pulling a calculus text book from Ethan's locker and handing it to him. Ethan looked down in his bag to find he had grabbed his book for history. Oh.

"By 'agreed' you mean you've avoided the subject and pretended like nothing happened." Benny turned to look directly at his friend, "You know," he started to smirk, "if you want I can make another love potion. I think I know what I did wro-"

"No!" Ethan interrupted quickly, "Benny, please, do you remember what happened last time? I don't know about you, but I'm not exactly eager to be your grandma's servant again."

Benny shuddered, "Point taken."

Silence lapsed between them. Ethan could tell Benny wanted to say more but was hesitant to push, and he couldn't help but feel guilty for it. It wasn't his fault that Ethan was such a wimp.

"So," Benny started, "I was wondering, did you want to watch that new Space Gladiators movie tonight?"

"A new one? Didn't they release one a year ago?" Ethan silently thanked Benny for changing the subject.

Benny let out a short laugh, "Yeah, they were working on multiple movies at the same time. It was supposed to boost sales or something."

"I don't see why not then, it's not like I have anything else to do."

They continued to talk as they walked towards their Calculus class down the hall, barely acknowledging the bell.

Once again Ethan found himself unable to think of anything to say as they passed by Sarah. There was a brief moment of eye contact before he anxiously glanced away, not wanting to deal with another barrage of thoughts. He felt her gaze on him for a few more moments before being dragged along by Erica. He grimaced and continued to shuffle behind his own friend, who was still ranting about the newest movies. Ethan didn't take any time notice Benny's pitiful glances.

If there was one thing Sarah didn't have a lot of, it was friends. After Jesse had turned her there just hadn't been as much of a drive to be social any more, and a lot of the original cliques she used to hang out with slowly faded from her mind. Although she'd never admit it to Erica, Ethan and Benny were some of her best friends. So after weeks of barely uttering only a few sentences to them, she was starting to get a little bit impatient.

Obviously Ethan wasn't going to approach her, and Sarah wasn't sure she could take another day of awkward glances and unspoken words, especially when she was required to babysit only to find out Ethan had left for Benny's house minutes before she arrived. Even if the date hadn't exactly been an enjoyable experience, she didn't want it to destroy her friendship with Ethan. His company was something she had come to appreciate. In what way, well that's what she was still figuring out.

This irritation continued to persist in the back of her mind up until lunch. She didn't bother to suppress a loud sigh as she slid into a seat next to Erica.

"The geeks are over there." Erica pointed nonchalantly to a table at the end of the cafeteria, not even bothering to look up.

Sarah gave her friend a dubious glance, "How did you—"

"Sarah, I know you. Personally I don't know why it's so important to you, and I don't really care," it was obvious in her voice that she did, "but trust me, you're going to have to talk to him at some point. Might as well do it now."

Sarah found herself unable to think of a retort. Nervously she glanced towards their table, where Benny was scarfing down a hot dog while Ethan picked at a small portion of macaroni and cheese.

"I guess you're right." she murmured. Pushing away all negative thoughts she lifted her chin, "Okay. I'll do it."

Erica didn't say anything, but Sarah caught the slight quirk of her lips as she made her way across the cafeteria. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, Erica really did care.

Neither of the two geeks noticed her until she was standing directly in front of the table. Ethan's eyes visibly widened and she refrained from biting her lip. A nervous habit she thought she had dropped back in middle school but sometimes still persisted.

"Hey Sarah!" Benny greeted her as he continued sloppily chewing the remains of his hot dog.

Ethan glared at his friend, "Benny!"

"Hey." She smiled and let out a breathy laugh at their familiar antics. Still grinning she turned to face Ethan, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

At her words he seemed to freeze, as if slowly processing what she said, "Oh, um," he set down his fork, "sure." He smiled nervously at Benny for getting up and following her into the hallway.

They looked at one another for a moment. When it became obvious Ethan wasn't going to say anything she opened her mouth. "Listen, I know it's been a bit weird lately," his awkward smile grew more strained, "but I really don't want us to stop being friends because of a few mix ups."

She waited expectantly for a response. "Y-yeah. I agree."

"So I was thinking," their eyes were now directly trained on one another, "how about we just start over. Pretend it never happened. If that would make things easier, of course."

Ethan's eyes shone brightly, "I'm sorry about—"he began to shift from foot to foot, "I mean I didn't—"she watched as he struggled to find the right words, "I think that's a great idea."

"Perfect." Sarah smiled at him. He smiled back.

"Well, um, I guess I'll see you later then?" his lips were now back in a familiarly awkward curve, "You're still babysitting Friday right?"

"Yep. Apparently your parents are going bowling again. Hopefully it goes better than last time."

"Awesome." She couldn't help but let her smile grow. "Uh, goodbye."

"See you." She gave a slight wave as he walked back towards his table, where a portion of his pasta had mysteriously disappeared. Who would've known that all it would take was a few simple words to reignite their friendship. Finally it seemed like things were going to return to normal.

Ethan felt great. Sarah and he were friends again, and although it wasn't exactly where he had hoped things would go, it was a hell of a lot closer than he'd been two days ago. For once things seemed to be going great, and in that moment it felt like nothing could ruin his mood.

"Oh." He muttered as he looked through his bag.

Benny glanced over at him. They had just passed the edge of the school limits, wanting to get home as soon as possible. "What's wrong?"

"Ah, I just forgot my chemistry homework. I think it's still in Mr. Thompson's room." Ethan zipped up his bag exasperatingly.

"He's probably still in there, just hurry up and go get it. Make it quick though, I want to go home and watch me some Space Gladiators IV: The End of the Beginning." He muffled his voice with his hand as he uttered the name of the movie in his most masculine voice, which sounded uncannily similar to Bane.

"Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes. You can go ahead without me." Ethan gave a quick farewell before heading back towards the school building. Hopefully he wasn't too late.

When he arrived in the classroom it seemed as if Mr. Thompson had already left. By a stroke of luck he had forgotten to lock the door and Ethan was able to easily slip in and search his desk. He grasped around inside for the familiar crinkling of paper.

"Looking for something?" Ethan spun around at the calm and familiar voice.

"Jesse." He whispered hoarsely. After the incident with the Lucifractor Jesse had disappeared. At the time he had viewed it as a blessing, but now he couldn't help but question what exactly the vampire had been doing for the past few weeks.

Gathering his bearings he cleared his throat before speaking again, "I thought you left Whitechapel."

"Did you now?" He grinned, showing off a pair of fangs, "I figured I would pay you a little visit first. Settle some things before I left this crappy little town." Ethan cringed as Jesse tossed a pile of papers onto the desk beside him with amazing precision. His chemistry homework.

It didn't take much for Ethan to start shaking. Normally he at least had Benny with him, or had time to prepare for a fight. Right now he was alone and completely unarmed. Without anything to defend himself he didn't stand a chance against a two hundred year-old vampire.

"What do you want?" he asked shakily, internally cursing at how weak he sounded.

"In case you weren't aware, vampire's tend to hold grudges." He took a step toward Ethan, the human immediately taking another step back. His calm expression was quickly replaced by one of malice and vengeance, "Because of you and your sad excuse of meat I'll never see my flock again. Not only that but Sarah, who I turned with the complete intent of making her mine, now despises me and refuses to hold so much as a single conversation."

Ethan grit his teeth, "Pretty sure that's your own fault."

Jesse hissed spitefully and Ethan instantly regretted ever opening his mouth, "Is that what you think?"

Jesse took another step forward and Ethan tried shift backwards, laminated wood now pressing sharply against his back. "I think that this is all your fault. You were the one who ruined all my plans," the vampire was now only a few feet away from him, "you destroyed any chance at redeeming my relationship with Sarah, even though it was pretty damn obvious she would never truly care about you," Jesse was practically spitting in his face at this point, "in fact, the way I see it, things would be a lot better around here if you never existed in the first place."

Ouch. That stung a bit.

Jesse grinned again and this time Ethan truly began to shake. He'd seen people look furious before but his expression was one of pure, manic anger. They were now standing face to face, with Ethan staring directly into Jesse's unstable, gold eyes.

"If I hadn't done anything you would've killed more people. Innocent people who did nothing wrong."

The air was empty for a moment before Jesse broke out into another psychotic grin, "You really hate seeing people hurt, don't you?"

Ethan didn't even bother trying to respond. He could tell by the look in Jesse's eyes that it wasn't really a question.

"I want to leave this town knowing I was successful in at least one thing." He snarled, "And that is making your life absolutely miserable."

Ethan lamely tried to duck beneath Jesse's arm, only to have his own pinned painfully against the desk. He gasped in shock before being throne across the room with the same precision as his chemistry homework, slamming directly into the opposing wall with the grace of a rag doll.

"This is just too easy." Jesse whispered gleefully as he approached the wounded teen, who could only choke in pain from the impact. The vampire hadn't even tried to hold back, leaving a fresh dent in the wall were Ethan had landed, along with a few drops of blood. Ethan didn't have to touch his head to know it was bleeding profusely.

The room had already begun to blur when he felt cold hands grip his arm with enough strength to at least bruise, if not crush his bones. His pupils traced Jesse's cold smile before it opened and revealed the vampire's true intentions. Ethan faintly registered the pain of two teeth ripping through his skin and into a large vein, warm liquid spilling onto his chest and seeping into his jacket. There was nothing delicate in Jesse's actions.

Suddenly he was being overtaken by heat. Pain started at the base of his wrist and crawled its way down his arm, along his spine, taking over every vein as body. His lungs burned and tears clouded his already failing vision.

There was a small rustling as Jesse pulled an object from his jacket. Ethan was only able to catch a quick glimpse of something orange and needle-like before his vision disappeared altogether, swallowed by the pain that now filled every aspect of his body.

"Until we meet again." Jesse's lips pressed up against his ear as another pin prick sliced through Ethan's wrist. Definitely a needle. He didn't have time to wonder what its purpose was before being swallowed by another wave of pain, this time his taking his consciousness down with it.


	2. Disturbed

Awareness took it's time as Ethan was slowly pulled back to reality.

His first realization was that wherever he was, it was cold. Unbearably so.

His second was that his head hurt like hell.

Cracking open his eyelids he glanced around before his muddled gaze latched on to a few papers lying on the other side of the room. His homework. That seemed to be enough to erase all of the fog from over his mind, because it was only a few moments before his memories resurfaced and a gut wrenching sense of dread overtook him.

Shaking profusely, he dragged his eyes away from the desk and down to his arm, where a dull burning sensation refused to dissipate. A sharp cry left his throat as his fears were confirmed. Lying just below his wrist were two jagged holes. Jesse had bitten him.

Before doing anything Ethan closed his eyes. Past experience with visions had taught him to not always trust what he saw. He took a few deep breaths, trying to quell his infinite anxiety, before peeling back his eyelids once more.

The same two puncture wounds stared directly back at him.

He let out a soft whine as he realized exactly what that entailed. Jesse had bitten him, seemingly as some form of revenge, and as far as he could tell the only blood loss he'd suffered had been from the rather harsh impact with the wall. Which meant that Jesse hadn't drank his blood. That left only one possibility.

"E? Hey, buddy, you there?" Benny's voice sliced through his thoughts, "It's been half an hour!"

It took a few moments for Ethan to get to his feet, struggling to ignore the growing migraine that now persisted at the base of his skull. He started towards the door before pausing and glancing back to his wrist.

There was nothing beneath the bite mark, but he vividly remembered something sharp jabbing him in his fore arm before blacking out. Although muffled by the bite's feverous aches, he still felt a dull throb in the area, and a little voice in the back of his mind screamed at him to pay more attention.

He glanced down to the floor where he'd just been laying. Situated just a few feet away from a desk was a near empty hypodermic needle, the metal tip winking back at him with pride and malice. His eyes turned back to the door, where he could hear Benny's footsteps approaching. He wanted to go to Benny, it seemed like the right thing to do, but there was a feeling he just couldn't seem to ignore. One that pushed him towards the open window on the opposite side of the room.

Taking another deep breath, he turned away from the door. Just a few hours to figure things out, that's all he needed.

His head was really starting to hurt.

Sarah slowly searched around her drawers for the perfect shirt to wear, and eventually decided on a plain red shirt. Simple, but cute. Silently closing the drawer she spun around only to immediately drop it. Jesse smirked at her from the window frame.

Sarah scowled.

"You don't look very happy to see me." He said in a casual tone.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed, "I told you I'm not going with you."

He let out a small chuckle as his eyes dragged over her body lazily. She blushed realizing all she had on was her bra and underwear. What a pervert.

"Why so rude? I just came to say goodbye." He didn't even bother hiding his satisfaction at her reaction, "I've finished my work here, and there is no reason for me to stay. Unless of course, you'd like me to."

Her eyes flashed gold, "What work? We defeated Stern weeks ago."

Another cruel grin, "Oh you know. Packing up my things, warning you, getting back at that aggravating little geek, the usual."

Sarah bristled, "What did you do to Ethan?"

"I don't recall ever giving you a name. You don't really care that much about such a useless piece of meat, do you?" he cocked his head to the side.

"Did you hurt him? I swear—"

"You swear what? I was only dishing out what he served. He ruined my life, so I ruined his. Fair is fair, after all." Jesse squinted his eyes as the first rays of sunlight emerged, "Anyways, it's about time I take my leave. Oh, and tell Erica hi for me."

She didn't even have time to move before he vanished from sight.

Internally panicking, she sped over to her phone and flew down her list of contacts, searching for Ethan's name. The phone rang five times before going directly to voice mail. She tried again, only to be met with the same result. She bit her lip.

"Sarah, sweetheart, you're going to be late for school!" her mother called from the bottom of the stairs. Trying to swallow her anxiety she quickly pulled on her shirt on jeans before grabbing her bag and heading out the door to school, hoping with all her un-beating heart that Ethan would be standing by his locker when she got there.

That hope was crushed as soon as she arrived. The only person standing next to his locker was Benny, who looked about as calm as Rory on coffee. She had to stop herself from running over there and instead settled for a speed walk that could probably break Olympic records.

When she was within a few feet of him she whispered: "Benny! Have you seen Ethan?"

The look on his face spoke for him. "No. He's missing."

"Missing?" she shouted, earning a few questioning glares.

"He went back to the school to grab some homework and never came back. I searched the whole place and called him like fifty times. I figured he might have gone home but then his parent's called later saying that he hadn't come back from school."

For once Sarah was glad she couldn't breathe, otherwise she'd probably be gasping for air. "There wasn't a note or anything?"

"Actually, I did find something. In the chemistry lab. I just wasn't quite sure if it meant anything or not." He started to dig around in his bag, messily pushing aside crumpled papers and broken pencils. A few more seconds passed before he finally found what he was looking for. He pulled back his hand to show her a small needle, nearly empty save a few leftover drops of some strange liquid.

"What is that?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I do know that Mr. Thompson didn't use needles in any of his classes recently."

She studied the needle carefully. It looked to be the disposable kind doctors often used to give vaccinations. "Can I see it?"

"Uh, sure." He handed it to her. She rolled it around in the palm of her hand, studying the unusual chemical inside. It was bright orange, almost scarlet, similar to the inside of a grapefruit. She hesitated before bringing it up to her nose and sniffing it.

"Sarah!" Benny all of a sudden snatched the object from her hand.

She glared at him, "What the heck?"

"Your eyes were… you know." He made clawing motions with his hands, "Grrr."

Her mouth opened in a silent 'oh'. Both of their gazes dropped down to the needle, innocently sitting in the palm of Benny's hand. He glanced back up at her before returning it to one of his back pack pockets.

"I think Ethan's in trouble. I'll explain the rest to you later but right now we need to go see your grandma. I have a feeling she'll know what that is."

"Okay, but what about Home Ec.? We're supposed to be making apple pie today." She used her eyes as daggers and he squeaked, "Never mind, let's go." His expression quickly turned determined.

"Whoever messed with Ethan is going to have a bad time."

By the time Benny and Sarah had finished explaining everything to his grandma the older woman had grown eerily quiet. This did nothing to calm the already broiling anxiety inside both teenagers. Especially when Sarah added in a short anecdote about her little confrontation with Jesse.

Grandma Weir's eyes stared off into space as she mulled over what they had said, occasionally glancing towards Benny or Sarah in a rather intimidating way. This continued on for a few minutes before she finally spoke, directing her words towards Benny, "You mentioned earlier that you found a needle in the room. May I see it?"

Benny nodded numbly at her words before he began searching through his backpack, cursing himself for not being more organized. He hadn't missed the hidden urgency in his grandmother's voice, something he had learned to recognize a long time ago. She often hid her emotions behind false composure. That didn't stop Benny from noticing the slight crease of her mouth or the subtle tenseness of her shoulders.

His grandmother was almost always calm in the face of danger. That's how he had learned to be so upbeat all the time. It was only in the direst of circumstances that her stoic mindset began to waver.

Breaking out of his thoughts, he carefully removed the needle and set it down in front of his grandmother on the table. He saw Sarah lean away slightly out of the corner of his eye.

Benny couldn't help but fidget in his chair nervously as his grandma picked up the needle and held it up to the light. Her eyes widened a fraction as they came across a few drops of scarlet liquid and a short gasp escaped her lips. This was enough to solidify Benny's fears.

"I have a feeling I know what this is. If I'm right then we have a very dangerous situation on our hands." She turned her eyes to the chair next to her grandson, "Sarah, I'm going to need to try something. Please tell me if you feel anything uncomfortable."

Sarah nodded and laid her hand palm up on the table at his grandmother's command. Trembling, Mrs. Weird took the needle in her right hand and—in a familiarly steady grasp—pushed down on the needle until one drop escaped.

The moment the liquid touched Sarah's skin she was hissing and yanking her arm back, cradling it in a defensive grip that turned her knuckles pale white. Her eyes flashed a brilliant gold and glared venomously at the older woman. A set of fangs now rested above her bottom lip like two daggers prepared to strike at any moment.

All of a sudden she seemed to snap out of whatever hissy fit, (yes he made puns in his head), that had grabbed hold of her and her eyes returned to their normal dark brown.

Glancing back to his grandmother he was met with an entirely different expression. It was a look of knowing, as if the results were exactly as she'd predicted, but it was mixed with one of disappointment. Sarah's reaction seemed to have crushed her hope.

He didn't let himself say she was afraid.

"What the heck was that?" Sarah breathed. The air surrounding them had seemed to take on a rather bitter flavor.

Instead of answering Mrs. Weir switched her attention back to Benny, making him immediately tense up, "You're sure this was laying in your teacher's room?"

"Positive." He said, trying not to stutter.

"And there was nothing else?"

"Besides his chemistry homework?"

She sighed and set the needle back down on the table, making sure to place it at the furthest edge.

"Listen up you two." Her voice immediately commanded their attention without question, "This is Caravelus."

"Cara- what now?" he said.

"Caravelus." She repeated, not even bothering to glare at him for his interruption, "It's a poison used to drive vampires insane." Sarah stiffened beside him, "Once injected into the bloodstream of a vampire it will cause their cravings for blood to increase exponentially. They lose control over themselves and will attack anything and everything that moves and breathes. The recipe was supposed to be destroyed a long time ago, but obviously someone decided to hang on to it.

Benny grimaced. "Do you think Jesse used it on himself?"

"No," Sarah shook her head, "when I saw Jesse this morning he was the same as normal. At least normal for him. He was still a sarcastic asshole." She whispered the last part under her breath.

Mrs. Weir clasped her hands over her chest, "I'm not entirely sure what happened in that classroom of yours, but I think it would be best if you found Ethan as soon as possible."

The two of them nodded in agreement.

"Let's start looking then, maybe he just got lost or something." Benny joked. Ethan was the most organized person out of all of them.

Sarah gave him a half-hearted grin in response. Deep down they both knew that Ethan was in serious danger. He just hoped they weren't too late.


	3. Desire

Ethan took a deep breath of air, relishing the cold, forest scent. He had managed to escape through the window just before Benny had entered the classroom. His friend's panic had been obvious but for some reason Ethan just couldn't bring himself to confront him. There was too much going on in his mind.

He knew he was turning into a vampire. Any questions about that disappeared as soon as he stepped into the forest. Not only was his hearing sharper, but there was a certain tingling in his veins that made him restless, similar to adrenaline. This was only confirmed when he spotted his reflection in a pond. It flickered in and out like static.

His thoughts were going through a similar process, switching from one topic to the next. Focusing was becoming increasingly difficult, to the point where he wasn't quite sure how long he had been walking. It had only felt like a few minutes, but a quick glance at the sky showed the sun being swallowed by icy mountain peaks. Which meant it was sunset. Or sunrise? He wasn't quite sure. Either way, the normal cold didn't seem to quite reach him.

The patch of skin where Jesse had injected something in to him had begun to throb intensely. Yet another reason that he was having trouble staying focused.

He had once read something during one of his online browsing sessions about disassociation. A sort of mental detachment where you lose time and your grasp on reality. This seemed to apply to his current situation rather well.

His thoughts quickly turned to a more pressing matter: his friends. What would Sarah say? And Benny? Rory's reaction would just be weird, most likely a quick 'awesome' or 'welcome to Team V'. At the moment though he wasn't feeling like much of a vampire. Was his head supposed to hurt this much?

Groaning he placed a hand to his forehead to attempt and stop the migraine. It didn't help.

"Are you okay?" a small voice asked. He turned around uneasily, clenching his teeth at the way everything blurred around him, before his eyes managed to focus on a small girl, no older than seven. Through his rather broken vision was able to make out light blonde hair and wide eyes.

"I, um," he tried to speak, only to find the words die on his lips. His throat burned with impatience. The skin of her neck seemed to have a firm grasp on his attention. It didn't take a lot of thinking on his part to realize what this meant.

A heart beat reached his ears, steady and full of life, and the world lurched in front of him. He stumbled, catching himself from falling just before the girl. She took a step back. Wrenching his eyes from her neck he directed his gaze upwards, only for it to land on concerned blue eyes.

"Do you want me to get somebody?" she said delicately. He caught the slight quiver in her voice and he blanched. Her heart beat was quickening. She must've been able to sense that something was wrong and he silently begged that she just run away so he could suffer in piece.

A new ache settled just below his gums. Fangs. He licked his lips unconsciously as a new smell reached him. One that made the forests refreshing scent smell like garbage. The fog from before had settled back over his thoughts, tinting them a feral scarlet.

Without thinking he leaned forward and reached out, desperate for the tantalizing smell that drove his mind in to a haze. Somehow he knew that all his problems would be solved if he could just find the source. The girl let out a short squeak as he grabbed onto her only to quickly fall silent. His dry lips met her skin and he immediately bit down.

The flavors that leapt onto his tongue could only be compared to ambrosia. A liquid so unbelievably divine he couldn't help but latch on harder. He needed this. There was nothing more important. Every single drop sent his mind into a fit of ecstasy, driving away the pain that had plagued him for so long.

The moments following came in small, muddled bits.

Somehow he had managed to break away from his drunken high only to find himself staring into the eyes of a very lifeless little girl. The weight of what he had done crashed down on him in waves and he stumbled back into the forest.

He was running, faster and faster, tripping and falling only to get back up and continue sprinting forwards. He may have sprained his ankle along the way, but it had completely healed by the time he was back on his feet.

Eventually he found himself leaning against the rough bark of a tree. His mind still latched on to the frozen expression of the girl. It was only when the sirens screamed in the distance that he began to cry.

He had never been the most masculine of guys. In fact he was far from it—something he had been teased about relentlessly for many years now—but he had always managed to keep a firm grip on his thoughts and emotions. Even when the world seemed to turn against him, he kept a steady mind. He supposed it had something to do with the fact that he was a Seer. A strong mind and quick wit, or whatever else Benny's grandmother had mentioned. Perhaps that was the reason it all came out in that moment. As far as he knew, he was no longer a seer.

He sobbed. Not just a few simple tears, but full out wailing and sniffling, salt water staining his shirt and mixing with blood. The vile liquid was now splattered across his torso and chest, faithful reminders of the horrific act he had just committed. This only managed to make the tears fall faster.

Ethan finally understood just what Jesse had done. He knew how much Ethan cared about others, how he prided himself on protecting people and saving them from harm. Jesse saw the way Ethan hated seeing others in pain, and he used it against him.

The bark dug into his back painfully as he sunk to the ground in defeat. What could he possibly do now? He wasn't going home. There was no way he could ever forgive himself if he hurt Jane or his parents. He was barely hanging on as it was.

There was something wrong about all of this. Something to do with the constant throbbing beneath the skin of his wrist. The fog that covered his mind had cleared slightly, but for how long? His mind was normally organized and neat, but now he found himself grasping at random thoughts he barely understood.

For once in his life, Ethan had no idea what to do, and it terrified him.

"Benny, if you're going to turn on the music at least change it to something decent." Sarah whined. They had spent the past three hours searching the streets of Whitechapel and they were both getting agitated. The tension in the car was like thick soup, and Benny's obnoxious techno music did nothing to ease it.

"But I'm so bored." He groaned, switching off the radio, "Why can't I just do some sort of locating spell to try and find him?"

"You heard what your grandma said. We would need his DNA for that; saliva or a skin sample." She shuddered.

"Dumb spells." He grumbled, before lapsing back into silence. Sarah glanced to the side every so often in search of familiar brown hair, only to see the same endless sea of green and gray.

It scared her, to know that a poison like that could exist. The fact that she could lose part of herself simply by being in close proximity to it was terrifying. And that was just a single drop. She didn't dare think about what might happen to a vampire with a full syringe-worth of that pumping through them.

Thankfully Benny seemed to sense her unease and broke the silence. It seemed he had been dealing with a similar train of thought. "Hey, I was thinking. If the Carnivalus—'

"Caravelus." She corrected.

He shot her a scowl, "Whatever. If the Caravelus wasn't injected into Jesse, maybe it was injected into Ethan."

Sarah frowned. The tone of his voice was a bit too thoughtful and morose, "It only works on vampires, remember? And I'm pretty sure Ethan is not a vampire."

He shifted in his seat as if mulling over something in his mind, "I guess you're right."

She glanced over at him, "What is it?"

"Nothing. Nothing. I was just thinking."

Sarah bit back a sharp retort, "About what?"

"Well, I know Ethan's not a vampire but," his tone had grown calculative and stern, "What if Jesse bit Ethan, turned him into a vampire, and then injected him with the cara- whatever?"

Sarah went silent for a moment as a stone nestled in her chest.

"Benny." Her voice was soft.

"Yeah?"

"We need to find Ethan."

Ethan was panicking. He had pulled out his phone to call Sarah only to be overwhelmed by guilt. He couldn't face her. That little girl was dead. She had a family, a life, and he had ripped it away from her. He had killed her. Vampire or not, it was still murder.

It was stupid. He was smart enough to know that those thoughts hadn't really been his, that he would never intentionally hurt someone, let alone drain their life, but the more rational part of his brain was currently down and in desperate need of repair. The longer he sat there, the longer it seemed he was running on pure impulse and adrenaline.

It only occurred to him after he heard a sickening crack that he had launched his phone at the tree across from him. It now lay on the ground in a heap of broken glass and plastic.

"Seems that the Caravelus is working rather nicely." Jesse's smug voice echoed from behind a tree. He stepped out of the shadows to reveal a satisfied grin, putting his teeth and fangs on display, "How do you feel? Terrible, I'd assume. You must really hate yourself, after what you did to that poor little girl. " Ethan clenched his fists, not even wincing as he felt his nails pierce the palm of his hand. He deserved it.

"Her name was Emily, in case you were curious. Rather dull name if you ask me. Dreadfully common. You'd think this generation would've come up with more creative names by this point." He leered, eyes sweeping over Ethan's broken form. Bile began to claw its way up his throat as he spotted the vampire's all too complacent expression. "Right now the Caravelus is working its way through your system, eating away at your thoughts. It won't be much longer before you begin to lose control. I can't wait to see that. I'm sure Sarah would love to watch as you slowly go insane." Cold eyes lifted to meet Ethan's, "I know I would."

"What the hell is Caravelus?" he growled, ignoring the blood leaking from his clamped fists. Jesse was obviously trying to bait a reaction out of him. "Why are you still here?

"Still annoying I see. I guess there's no harm in telling you though. Caravelus is basically an illegal poison. One that has some rather… destructive effects on a vampire's psyche." His grin widened as he plaintively stared at the blood seeping through Ethan's t-shirt. "To answer your other question, I won't be here for much longer. I just wanted to make sure the poison succeeded before I left. It would be a shame if my attempts to ruin your life were all for naught, don't you agree?"

Ethan surprised himself as he growled. There was anger and then there was pure, undiluted rage, both of which seemed to have taken over. He really was losing control.

Fighting himself he managed to snarl, "What is the cure?"

Jesse laughed. "And why would I tell you that?" he answered slyly.

Ethan bit back another growl. He opened his mouth only to pull it back shut. Whatever poison Jesse had infected him with wasn't deadly. Perhaps he could restrain it.

Jesse seemed to take his silence as a sign of defeat, "Just as I thought. There's nothing you can do. After a few hours you'll be little more than a wild animal. You'll kill anybody you lay eyes on. Who knows, maybe you'll even murder that little brat of a sister? Or perhaps I could speed up the process for you and just—" his speech was cut short as Ethan found himself pushing the elder vampire up against a tree with strength that at any other time would've filled him with immense satisfaction. Jesse could torture him, kill him if he wanted to, but his family was off limits.

The man—teenager vampire _monster_ —barked out a laugh as he stared back at Ethan with ice cold eyes. Somehow he had managed to snap off a tree branch, sharp from the force used to snap it in two, which was now pressed firmly against Jesse's chest, ready to pierce through flesh at any moment.

"What is the cure." Ethan seethed. Part of him was still trying desperately to reign in control, but it was quickly being burned away by the heat of his anger.

Jesse stared back at him for a few moments before bursting into a fit of dark laughter, the smooth grin never falling from his face, "There is none. Why do you think they banned it in the first place?" Their eyes met and Ethan could do nothing but accept the truth in his gaze, "Don't you see Ethan, there is nothing you can do. I always get what I want." He leaned in close, "And I want you to suffer."

Ethan didn't hesitate before plunging the makeshift stake forward. The sound of skin breaking was blotted out by the roar that echoed through his mind. The cracks that had begun to form were beginning to grow, and a strangled cry left his mouth that sounded more animal than human. Every part of him wanted to believe Jesse had been lying, but the satisfaction he had seen in the vampire's gaze destroyed that notion instantly.

Even if Jesse was truly dead—he killed him oh my god what had he done—the vampire had left his mark on the world. Part of Ethan wondered if Jesse had planned for this to happen. He decided it was better not to dwell on that.

It didn't occur to him that he was now sitting down, nor did it occur to him that the tree branch was still clutched firmly in his hands, splinters piercing his palm like tiny daggers. In fact, it was quite possible he had forgotten where he was altogether. The only thing he could see in that moment were two faces. The sad, lifeless eyes of a young girl who just wanted to help, and the triumphant gaze of someone who knew they had finally won.


	4. Shattered

"No offense, but you suck at driving." Benny groaned as he stared out the window. His ill expression only worsened when he tried to focus on the passing shapes.

"Sorry if I'm in a hurry to find a friend that may or may not be poisoned." Sarah snapped.

A cynical laugh answered her, "Don't forget the whole vampire fledging thing."

Sarah's grip tightened around the wheel as she tried to dampen her anxiety. "The next word that comes out of your mouth and I'm shoving you out of this car."

"Alright, alright." He mumbled in response. The sickly green tint of nausea began to take over his features.

Perhaps she was driving a bit more reckless than was appropriate, but her mind couldn't help but lean towards panic at the possibility of what may be happening to her friend. To experience that hunger, raw and wild, with no mental restraints to hold him back, she could only imagine the pain he could be going through. Although she wanted desperately to push aside Benny's earlier theory, it fit all too well with Jesse's twisted ideals of revenge.

It was for no other reason than a stroke of well-timed luck that she spotted the figure huddled beneath an oak tree. Any rational thoughts flew out the window as she twisted the wheel around in a release of the tension that had been building up beneath her muscles for the past three hours. A despairing moan echoed from her partner.

As she brought the car to an abrupt stop she couldn't help but let out a shriek of triumph, "I think that was him!" She turned to face Benny only to find her friend bent over and shaking, whether from panic or vertigo she couldn't tell.

"You go on without me." He rasped, hand clutching his stomach. "I think those cheese balls are making a comeback."

Sarah managed to turn away as he frantically reached for a bag and retched out the contents of his stomach. "Gross."

Without sparing him a glance—part of her felt bad but the other part gagged at the image she might find—she slid out of the car and began running in the direction that she had spotted Ethan's figure.

Her eyes scanned the trees before landing on a hunched over shadow pressed up against the trunk of a rather scruffy looking oak tree. The figure was tense and shivering, reminiscent of feral cat that was cornered in an alley way, frightened and ready to pounce at a moment's notice. His face hidden beneath shaggy brown hair that seemed a bit too long and practically begging for a hair brush, but there was no mistaking him. It was Ethan.

She was certain that she had meant to say his name, but upon seeing the state he was in all that managed to escape was a shocked gasp.

His skin, which had once been a pleasant shade of Caucasian that had a tendency to blush a bit too easily, now bared resemblance to the deathly pale sheen of a corpse. And the shivering. If it weren't for the fact he was sitting upright she would've assumed he was having a seizure.

At the sound of her gasp his head shot up with barely concealed panic, and Sarah found herself staring directly into the unnatural eyes of a vampire.

"Ethan…" her voice came out as more of a whimper than a tone of reassurance. He flinched.

The once innocent, puppy-like gaze she had become so accustomed to now bore more resemblance to a rabid dog teetering on the edge of madness.

"What did he do to you?" she whispered. The words were pointless. Benny had already answered that question, and the proof was sitting in front of her.

When Ethan spoke, his words were not simply broken. They were shattered. He was a glass figurine that had met the head of a vengeful hammer, leaving her to gaze down at pieces left behind. "Sarah, I- I can't—"

"It's okay." She soothed, allowing her voice to take on the tone that her mother had used countless times before. "Just come with me."

His eyes remained unfocused, the pupils nothing but a dot of black in a sea of churning gold. There was no obvious reaction. Nothing to show that he had heard her. Part of her began to think that his words had been nothing but figment of her mind. She struggled to hold back a wave of panic.

Carefully she began to reach out towards him, hoping to guide him back towards the car and away from whatever strange world she had wandered into. This wasn't supposed to happen. Those words repeated in her head. Somehow she had never fully grasped the danger they constantly put themselves in, because they always managed to wedge their way out of every harmful situation. Their life had seemed more comedic at times than dangerous, like the contents of a rather creative children's show. What sat before her was like a slap in the face, reminding her of the harsh truths of reality. They could only have played with fire for so long.

His hand snapped up and blocked hers before it could reach him. The speed at which he was shaking snapping her mind out of whatever pessimistic state it had found itself in. Her own hand paused in the air for a moment, confused, before coming back down to her side; after taking a deep breath, she decided to redirect her words towards the path of encouragement. She wouldn't be able to force him anywhere in this state.

"Ethan." He flinched at his name, eyes widening a fraction as if just acknowledging her presence. "Ethan, we need to go back now. We're going to figure out a way to fix this."

He whispered something in a ragged tone, her oversensitive ears picking up on two words: "You can't."

She paused for a moment, digesting, before responding in the same soft, concerned tone. "What do you mean?"

"You can't fix it." He gasped, a long shudder passing over him, "You can't fix me."

She struggled not to cry at the sheer hopelessness in his tone, "Don't say that. Mrs. Weir is already searching for an antidote—"

"No."

She recoiled at the sudden shift in tone, from damaged to desperate in a second. "What?"

His eyes shifted to meet hers and she failed to repress a shiver at the savage gleam that screamed back at her. "No. There is no antidote. I asked."

"You asked?" her eyebrows furrowed, "Asked who? Jesse?" His head dipped minutely. A nod. "You can't honestly believe him."

"He wasn't lying."

It wasn't a protest. It was a fact.

His shaking had worsened, and rivulets of sweat plastered his hair to paper-white skin. Her throat contracted and she swallowed before allowing her gaze to drop from his broken expression. The thin material of his t-shirt was stuck to his skin as firmly as his hair, but by a much darker fluid. A purr resonated from deep within her stomach as the scent finally hit her, keening at the smell that had become all too familiar in her life. He was covered in blood.

"Ethan," she whispered, no longer hiding the panic that had welled up inside her, "What happened?"

His eyes never left her face, but there seemed no doubt as to what the question meant. A few moments passed before the choked words reached her ears.

"I killed her."

Sarah's eyes widened a fraction as the weight of those words set in.

Often enough in the past she prided herself for remaining so level-headed in the most precarious and bizarre of situations. Rarely did she let herself lose control of her emotions. Becoming a vampire had only heightened that need to be calm and collected, as the curse often stipulated an increased temper.

Which is why in that moment the part of her that wasn't internally weeping at the terrifying state of her friend was filling her mind with sadistic visions of ripping out Jesses throat and splicing through his stomach. Oddly enough, this gave her enough of a handle to not panic.

Breathing was something that she didn't really need to do, but never bothered to get out of the habit of. She was therefore perfectly aware that she was holding her breath as she reached out once more, this time aiming for Ethan's left hand—there was a half broken branch stuck in the other but she decided to ignore that for now. This time he made no aim to stop her. By this point his breath had begun to come out in short, rapid gasps and his eyes were once again glazed and unfocused.

He hadn't forgotten her though. It was apparent in the way his shaking paused for just a second as her hand clasped itself around his own. Every part of her was wholly focused on him and his movements, trying not to wince as shudders raked their way through his body repeatedly in an almost rhythmic tune. It was only after his left hand twitched slightly that she gained the courage to stand up.

As she methodically raised him to his own feet new anxieties cropped up inside of her. He was leaning on the tree heavily, as if in pain, and the glaze that had taken over his eyes coupled with his pale skin made him look more like a zombie than a vampire. There was the overwhelming question of what else might be happening. What she couldn't see.

"Ethan?" Sarah put as much strength as she could spare into her tone but they still sounded weak and afraid to her ears, "Can you hear me?"

A few moments passed before those nearly nonexistent pupils focused on her own. Ethan slowly nodded, never breaking eye contact. It terrified her.

She pushed the red fog of anger to the rear of her thoughts before uttering the next question. "Do you think you'll be okay with Benny in the car?"

Ethan ripped his hand away as if she were the poison in his veins and his pupils managed to sink farther into the gold, until she had to strain herself to see it. He shook his head and mumbled to himself in short, broken gasps. Sarah simply watched, not finding the determination in herself to try and stop him.

Finally he seemed to gather his bearings and grew silent. Beads of sweat had gathered on his forehead, making his skin appear papery and translucent. "I have an idea." He said, his voice teetering dangerously near that of a pained groan. His expression suddenly turned firm as he once again initiated eye contact. "I want you to knock me out."

"What?" she whispered, louder than she intended to. His gaze remained hard but he flinched at the increase in tone. "Ethan, why on earth would you want me to do that?"

He shook his head again, mumbling something under his breath before addressing her again. "If you knock me out then…" he paused for a second, and she watched stiffly as his eyes seemed to glow harshly before fading back to the original gold. "then you c-can bring me back safely." His empty hand had closed into a tight fist. She tried to ignore the tears carving paths down his cheeks.

"Okay." She breathed. There was no way she'd try to contradict him in this state. "Okay, hold still."

Not letting herself lose sight of him, she bent down and picked up a decently sized boulder beside her feet. There was a gagging cough from somewhere near the road and Ethan's head snapped towards it's direction, the supernatural glow from before completely swallowing what was left of his pupils. All personality had abandoned his features and, although he was still shaking, his face was a display of raw desire.

There wasn't enough time to regret her decision before she was bringing the rock in contact with the back of his head.


	5. Mania

Ethan's face was locked in an expression bordering between pain and hunger, neither of which did anything to soothe the ill feeling that had gathered in her stomach. Vampires might not be able to get sick, but apparently stress was fair game. Which really wasn't fair because wasn't stress the result of certain toxins and . . . she squeezed her eyes shut.

Trying not to inhale, she wrapped her arms around Ethan's thin body and lifted, letting at a short whimper at how light he felt. She didn't bother to dwell on the more unsavory aspects, like his clothes, and instead opted for speeding as quickly as possible back to the car and flinging open the door.

As she laid his body as gently as possible onto the leather seats, she noticed he was still shaking heavily. The grimace on his face had yet to disappear, and she inwardly screamed at the absolute insanity of the extent of human cruelty.

Thankfully her thoughts were cut off by a small cough from the front passenger seat. Benny was looking back at her and Ethan with weakly masked panic. "Uh, what did I miss?"

The words needed to respond were trapped in her throat, so she opted for explaining the situation later. Biting her lip, she shoved herself into the front seat and started the car, not taking any extra time to adjust her position. Her mind was too cluttered to notice anyhow.

Benny seemed to decide that this was one of those times when he should just be quiet. She watched as he tried to tear his eyes away from Sarah's frantic expression. His grandma's house was another thirty minutes away.

. . .

As Sarah pulled into the driveway, her mind was pulled into a sea of worries. Just before knocking Ethan out she had seen a look in his eyes, one that had sent a dozen shots of adrenaline pumping through her veins. The gold in his eyes was different from those of a vampire, more feral and unhinged. His expression had changed in an instant from anxious to intense focus. On Benny.

Benny who just happened to be sitting right next to her with a look of utter confusion at why she had yet to move, "Um, Sarah?"

"What?" she snapped.

He winced, "What happened?"

Eyes burning with unshed tears, she turned to the back seat where Ethan lay shuddering but still unconscious. The blood from his shirt had seeped into the seats of her beaten up car, staining them a muddy pink, and the muscles beneath his eyelids continuously moved beneath his eyelids. He was going to wake up soon.

Ignoring Benny's continuous questioning looks, she leapt out of the car and slammed open the car door. There was a slight groan of protest from the hinges that she also disregarded. His small frame was then shifted into her arms in a position that would have been laughable under other circumstances. The shivering never ceased and, although the majority had dried, a few stray drops of blood pressed into her shirt.

Benny's gasp seemed to break away any remaining thoughts of distraction. His eyes were trained on his friend for the first time in a few days, and Sarah flinched as she realized he hadn't been able to see properly back in the darkness of the car.

Without sparing another glance she sprinted into the house. Benny's footsteps trailed after her.

Sarah made her way around the house with an unconscious Ethan cradled in her arms, searching for signs of Mrs. Weir. Her steps halted in front of the refrigerator, where a yellow sticky note was now put on display. Benny's grandma had gone to the store to get supplies.

A shift in her arms brought her attention back to Ethan, who had let out a quiet moan of pain. Hearing Benny's approaching footsteps from outside, she didn't give herself time to think before catapulting herself into a vacant room and locking the door. Thankfully it was the guest bedroom, and she was able to lay Ethan down on the soft, brown sheets with no resistance.

"Sarah? What the heck? Can you at least tell me what's going on?" Benny shouted. She flinched as she heard his breaths closing in on the guest bedroom. Maybe she should've been a bit quieter.

Another moan sounded from Ethan and his eyes began to flicker, two distinctive gold irises peeking out from beneath heavy eyelids.

"Benny, please leave! I promise I'll tell you later just," Ethan started to push himself off the bed. His face was a cold mask that didn't fit on his soft features, "now is really not a good time!"

Another wave of panic passed as Benny continued to approach. She inwardly screamed at his incompetence before shoving a large, wooden dresser in front of the door in hopes of keeping her out. A low growl sounded from near the bed.

When Sarah turned to face her friend she began to realize just why Caravelus had been destroyed. His hair was tousled from all the jostling, accentuating the wild hunger that now occupied his expression. There was absolutely no recognition, no familiar gaze, just frigid desire.

Benny began to rattle the doorknob.

"What happened to Ethan?" he called. She could hear his heart through the door, beating with trepidation for answer he already knew the answer to. A grin pulled at Ethan's trembling lips. There, on the face of her friend, was an expression she could have never imagined, a vortex of pure, undiluted hunger and mania that did not belong.

"Benny, you need to get as far away as you can!" Sarah's voice cracked as she yelled through the wood, trying to ignore the piercing gold that flicked her way. The dresser felt unfairly heavy as she tossed the piece of furniture in front of the still shaking door. A precaution to ensure Benny wasn't able to get in.

Somehow it didn't seem to occur to her that Ethan could move the dresser just as easily as she could now.

He was leaning over the dresser now, dull nails destroying the milky white paint with unrestrained desire. His pupils dilated and lips parted as his nose touched the only thing separating him from Benny. Tremors continued to attack his body with eager ferocity, obviously not from hunger. Vampires were cursed creatures, this she knew, but the pain hiding in the tense form of her friend was absolute torture. Fear pulled at her very core with an unconscious rhythm.

A crash was the only warning received before the door was ripped open. Eyes glanced to the side where a pile of splintered wood lay, her only precaution swatted away as if it were a pesky snowflake. The anxiety continued to tighten its hold on her as she opened her mouth and whispered his name.

The boy who looked like her friend turned towards her with that insane desire still twitching through his smile. She broke out of the chains previously holding back her voice. Another burst of adrenaline and he was shoved onto the bed with a deep rumbling growl. An odd instinct pricked the edges of her senses and she quickly indulged, allowing her mouth to open and release a hiss of warning, a last ditch attempt at intimidation.

She choked as he hissed back at her. Two sharpened eye teeth had appeared in his mouth as his eyes flashed recklessly towards hers in a feral show of defiance. Sarah choked at the unfamiliar gaze. He smirked.

His head tilted to the side as a brief moment of confusion unfocused his eyes at her reaction.

"Sarah! Sarah, what the hell is going on?"

And now he was swinging the door open, the liquid sheen in her eyes utterly forgotten. There was nothing but reckless grace in the way he moved. Benny's eyes widened as he stared into the face of someone he didn't seem to recognize.

Ethan was now pinning him up against the wall, his eyes never leaving his friends skin.

Sarah screamed, reaching blindly for the nearest object. Another burst of adrenaline and she was bringing something down with none of the caution from before.

Ethan fell. Benny stared. Sarah cried.

Now it was just the two of them staring at Ethan's unconscious form, the wild grin replaced by an abject grimace. He was still shaking now, perhaps more so than before. Benny swallowed and twitched before wrenching his eyes away.

Neither of them commented on the trails of gold-tinted liquid slipping past his closed eyelids.


	6. Temporary Amnesia

Conscious approached him slowly, entering in a thin trickle of awareness and discomfort. It had taken a moment to gather his thoughts due to the drum pounding in the back of his head but he managed, although he continued to feel it in waves. A droll ache wrapped around his bones, making it rather difficult to move even the smallest of muscles.

There had been no set expectations for what he would see upon opening his eyes, but he was surprised nonetheless. The ceiling was one he had seen before. Reassuring if not for the fact that he had no idea how he had ended up in Benny's guest bedroom.

A scraping around his wrists brought his gaze down until he was able to see the restraints tightly wrapped around his arms, stomach and legs. His tongue felt dry and worn as he licked his lips, and another ache began to form beneath his retinas as he took in the other familiar features of the room. A few snippets of light slipping through the blinds revealed it to still be sometime during the day.

He let out a long sigh, wincing slightly as the ropes chafed against his skin. The flashes of pain behind his eyes were making it difficult to recall the events leading up to this, and he was only able to grasp at a few stray shards of sounds and colors to try and piece together what had happened.

After Jesse's appearance at the school, a thick fog had slowly taken over his mind. The nearer to the present he traversed in his mind, the more he felt as if he were wading through an endless hole of mud. It was tiring, but eventually he was able to recall what had happened in the forest. The horror he had incurred in that girl would never leave his mind, no matter how muddled it became.

What really bothered him was the absolute emptiness he found after being knocked out by Sarah. There was something else between now and then—a feeling or perhaps a detailed dream—but there was nothing to indicate what might have happened. Whatever it had been, though, was enough to require his restraint. And that scared him.

Another battle behind his eyes followed by a brief period of black spots and he decided that he had searched his memories long enough. What seemed more important now was trying to calm himself and figure things out, before his mind turned into the same muddled mess as before. There was no way of knowing how long this period of clarity would last.

He shifted his arms again and let out a small moan at the soreness that came with it. A part of him knew that these ropes were merely a precaution, but he couldn't help but feel slightly insulted. His only reassurance was the fact that they must have figured out something was not quite right with him, hopefully even the exact contents of whatever poison Jesse had been toting around. If anyone knew how to fix this it would be Benny's grandmother.

Ink briefly took over his vision as a torrent of pain shot down his spine from the pulsing point in his head, causing his muscles to tense and spasm as he tried to withhold a shout. A series of loud snaps echoed in his ears and a whimper sneaked past his lips. The sudden attack destroyed any semblance of peace he had managed to garner in an instant, replacing it with the urge to claw at this eyelids until the monster digging beneath them was subdued.

The pain left him in a similar manner to which consciousness had entered, until the worst had passed and the pain had faded enough for him to open his eyes again.

Grimacing, he stared at the frayed mess of ropes that had been holding him down, ripped apart during his struggles. Under different circumstances, he would've made plenty of jokes in this moment. Most of them involving the X-men.

He lifted his arms above his head and stretched, ignoring the continuous attacks from his nerves as he freed his body from its cramped position. Once he was comfortably lying on his side he began to skim over ideas of what to do next.

Benny was likely somewhere in the house, hopefully with Sarah. Whatever senses he had gained from becoming a vampire seemed to stop at the door, so he could only assume there was some sort of spell blocking them. Either that or Canadian house insulation had really improved.

It wasn't a question of whether or not he should leave the room, so much as what would he do if he managed to. He didn't trust himself nearly enough at the moment to be around Benny and there was no way of knowing if Sarah was here without risking leaving the room, which in turn could put Benny in danger. A number of ways popped up in his mind of how the Vampire would react, and none of them were pleasant.

Ethan found it much easier if he imagined the Vampire as an entirely different person instead of simply of an extension of himself. This way, he was able to regulate at least some of the guilt. There was no way that he would ever intentionally hurt someone innocent, especially a little girl who had no way of knowing what was going on. Biting into them without remorse and taking away their life . . . he could never do that.

But the Vampire could.

Ethan licked his lips again, ignoring yet another ache that had begun to crawl its way down his throat, and came to his final conclusion. He would lay here and wait. The ropes lay coiled on the ground like a chopped up snake, but he was still restrained, if only by his own will power. Anything to ensure his friends' safety.

…

Benny's grandmother arrived home to an atmosphere so full of anxiety she was briefly brought back to her own days of teenage hood when the world seemed burn everywhere she walked. Her grandson was crouched on the chair with his knees pulled to his chest, fidgeting with every breath he took, and poor Sarah was standing in the corner mercilessly attacking her lips with her teeth, hopefully subconsciously. By merely clearing her throat the two managed to leap a solid five feet in the air combined.

She immediately pinned her gaze on to Benjamin, "What did you do this time?"

He scowled half-heartedly, before explaining in broken sentences Ethan's current predicament, with Sarah's own injections to the story every couple sentences. The metaphorical flames were bright in those moments. Throughout the entire retelling she managed to maintain a calm façade, nodding when he paused for breath and encouraging him to continue.

Five and half minutes later and the anxiety had firmly taken a hold of her thoughts, although she fought valiantly to tame it. Mental instability seemed to be a much more common occurrence these days. Something to be expected.

"I presumed something of this sort might happen." She began to fumble around in one of the many paper bags she had dragged in, thankful that she had chosen today to restock her potion stores.

"You did?" Benny asked.

"Of course. Jesse may be reckless but he is also quite clever and resourceful. He discovered a way to avenge his fallen flock and took action, albeit not quite in the way I had expected."

Sarah spoke up from behind her grandson, having finally left the corner, "So you know how to fix him?"

She sighed as she set down the last bag, "If by 'fix him' you mean rid him of the Caravelus's effects, then no. That particular poison has no known cure, mainly due to the fact that the liquid completely assimilates itself into the bloodstream and is highly resistant to any conventional ways of flushing it out. At this point it is likely that every drop from that syringe has scattered throughout him and fused with his blood and the venom from Jesse's bite; I can only assume it was him. We would be unable to remove it without completely draining him of all bodily fluids. I'm sure you two can understand why that is not a solution."

"So there's nothing we can do?" Benny shouted. She realized her explanation may have been a bit too harsh to spout all at once, but she had never been one to cushion her children's—or grandchildren's—fall.

Sarah was staring fixatedly at her toes with an agonized expression, "This is awful."

"Now wait just a moment." she began to remove a few herbs from the second bag, along with a bag of dog teeth. Benny openly grimaced. "I cannot cure him, not with my current resources, but I may be able to neutralize its effects for a period of time.

Sarah looked up hopefully, "What does that mean?"

"Under normal circumstances, the Caravelus would take full effect within the first few days of its introduction, but if I mix the right ingredients I should be able to procure us a few more months to figure something out. I have a few contacts that might be able to assist me with this, although I may have to make a few short trips out of town in order to meet with them." She set down a few more vials of herbs and animal parts on the table, as well as some easier to obtain minerals. They were having a sale on quartz.

The corners of Benny's lips began to rise, "How soon can you make the cure?"

"Neutralizer," She corrected, "and if everything goes well I should have it ready in about three hours. In the meantime," Sarah was now looking directly at her, "Sarah, I would like you to keep an eye on Ethan, in case he wakes up. I'm sure a lamp can only knock him out for so long." She smirked a bit at this.

Sarah nodded, "Alright."

"Benny, I would like your assistance in the basement. This will go much faster with two sets of hands."

His smile was replaced with reluctant determination, "Got you."

"The most important element right now is time; if the Caravelus is too far gone then this will not work." She tried to keep her fear from holding onto the words, although a small waver managed to work its way into the last few. Silently, she set down the last of the ingredients from her shopping spree: a handful of dried cypress leaves.

…

A pile of frayed, worn-out ropes were the first things Sarah's eyes latched onto when she opened the door. Her hand froze on the door knob as she began to feel the tinkling of glass shards beneath her stomach. Of course a bunch of ropes weren't going to restrain him; he had thrown an entire dresser across the room.

She tilted her gaze to scan the rest of the room, her grip tightening on cold metal the moment she spotted the silhouette next to the book shelf.

Three books were tossed haphazardly onto the carpet while a fourth lay facing the ceiling with its cover spread out on Ethan's lap. His shirt and hair were rumpled like the brown fur of a startled cat, and the golden hue of his eyes only exaggerated this image in her mind. His gaze—now absent of the manic glow—was fixed firmly on her, and it was so brutally forlorn that for an instant she felt as if she were truly staring into the eyes of a stray kitten who had lost its way.

Some tension slipped from her shoulders as she took in his messy but composed position; they still had time.

"Hey." She murmured, letting the words slip from her tongue. Lips curled into a smile with only the purpose of dispelling negative energy. They both knew it was forced.

Gold shifted its focus to the carpet, brushing over a copy of _The Sound and the Fury_ with no recognition. He parted his mouth just wide enough to respond, "Hi."

Any semblance of respect that had remained for Jesse vanished with that one word. The subtle crack at the end, caused by pent up emotions and—if the trembling and tenseness of his crouched frame was anything to go by—pain. Had he not been subtly pressing his back against the wall she would have run up and curled her arms around him.

She tried to put nothing but hope in her gaze as she said: "We're going to fix this."

He didn't move his eyes. "How?"

"Benny and his grandma are making a potion. It'll stop the poison's effects for a few months until we can figure something out." An eye twitched but nothing more. His eyes had moved to the two other covers: an old copy of _The Catcher in the Rye_ and a red book with cliché yellow pages whose name had faded away years ago. It probably even had that old book smell that she hated.

"What if we can't." he murmured.

"We will."

An interlude of silence followed this. Perhaps he realized that she was reassuring herself as well. She hoped not.

Ethan groaned and hesitated a moment before pressing his hands against his eyelids, as if he was afraid to show just how much pain he was in. The trembling had worsened to something closer to a seizure. Without wasting a moment on more useless thoughts she took two steps forward.

"Does it hurt?" she asked. Dumb question.

"It feels like someone tried to chop my head with an axe." Well, at least he was honest.

Moving her feet forward until she found herself only a few feet in front of him. He smelled of sweat and fear and although he wasn't letting anything substantial show, she could hear the inner part of him whimpering in the way that almost all guys never let themselves. "We're going to fix this, I promise."

She let her hand inch forward until it landed softly on his shoulder. The fabric moved as he flinched but didn't shift away.

"Sarah, "his tongue poked out to try and recover his chapped lips, "I killed someone. I almost killed Benny. And I-"he paused to let out a shaky breath, "some sick part of me enjoyed it."

Unconsciously she let her fingers tighten, until he had no choice but to look at her. His gaze was vulnerable in a way she had never experienced, as if he was offering up his soul through nothing but two shaky mirrors of gold.

"Don't blame yourself for this." Her shin was pressing against the book he had been reading: _Edgar Allen Poe's Collection of Stories and Poems_. How cynical. "You are one of the kindest people I know. This is not your fault." The whites of her teeth were now bared in what had become and involuntary response to anger, "I can't believe I ever thought Jesse was anything less than a cold-hearted bastard."

He chuckled softly at her cold tone, breaking her out of that brief moment of vengeance.

"What did I say?"

"Nothing. I've just never heard you cuss before." His mouth now resembled a feather, just barely curved towards the sun.

She giggled. Partially from stress, but a laugh nonetheless, "I guess I've never had a reason to use them before."

There was a period of silence. Not so much awkward as peaceful. A brief moment in which the past days stress was covered up by the sound of laughter.

He didn't laugh out loud but the feather had curved into the shape of mirth, before quickly falling flat again.

"He is okay, right?"

"Yeah." She nodded. Hopefully he did not notice the way her tone fell at the tremor in his voice, "I hadn't had much time to explain things to him with everything that was going on."

"That's good." he murmured, "I was worried."

"Don't be. In three hours" he squinted at this, "there will be a potion ready and we'll be able to relax. Both Benny and Ms. Weir are working on it, and I have no doubt that they'll figure everything out." This was true. She could never doubt Benny's grandmother. Not when moments like these happened.

"For a few months." He didn't look up.

"And in those few months we'll do everything in our power to fix this."

There was no response except for the occasional tremor rolling down his spine and into the carpet. Hopefully these symptoms would be gone in a few hours. Ethan may have thought he was good at hiding things, but there was no doubt in her mind that he was in a lot of pain.

They stayed like that for a moment, just paused in the silence as they pondered.

And then Sarah realized something.

Blood still stained his shirt, although the stuff had dried enough to be taken for mud. Whatever happened, Ethan had still drank human blood, regardless of whether or not he remembered it. There was no denial of this, not when the silence was absent of the two heartbeats it should carry.

Ethan was a vampire. No matter what happened, whatever potions they made, there was no way they could fix that. Truly, Jesse had gotten his revenge.

The rage returned.


	7. Relief

The entire time spent waiting was doused in silence, just the two of them next to one another, emotions bared in mock comfort. Ethan relaxed slightly as the hours passed. Although the poison still wrought havoc on his body and his eyes emanated that haunting reminder of something not-quite-human, the slight smile remained. He was still himself, for however long that may be.

Eventually Benny's voice made its way up to them and Ethan gave a minute twitch. A part of him seemed to be struggling as his smile turned to a grimace.

"I'll be back in a moment." Sarah murmured. His lips attempted to turn up, but only managed to look more pained, raising a new sense of urgency within her. Brushing her fingers against his arm one last time, she turned and ran down the stairs.

Benny's shirt was scattered with the remains of various herbs and flowers, the vial in his hand clutched firmly with no possibility of escape. He was fidgeting, shifting his point of balance from left to right and back again, and the slight glaze of his eyes was strung out and wired. She paused. Ms. Weir was sitting stiffly on a chair behind him, hands clasped firmly on her lap. The calm façade managed to convince Sarah to take the last few steps.

He handed her the vial with caution, "I couldn't bring it up to you, in case, you know… I didn't want E to freak out or anything."

Sarah nodded and looked at the glass now laying curiously warm against her palm. A few bubbles rose to the surface of the deep green liquid, but otherwise remained inconspicuous. Not exactly appetizing. Sarah tried to convince herself that Benny's grandmother would have allowed no room for mistakes.

She looked back up, "Thanks."

"No problem. Just tell me if you need anything."

Eyes not leaving the bottle, she gave him a small hum of agreement before turning to walk back up the stairs. She didn't run. They were running on borrowed time as it was. No need to drop the vial and ruin that.

Of course, as soon as she opened the door she was forced to break that rule and rush to Ethan's side. His back was pressed against the wall, knees digging into his chest as tremor after tremor tore through him with such viciousness that for a moment she had to reassure herself that the rest of the room was not shaking along with him. His skull was clutched between his hands desperately, blocking out the world.

There was no sign of acknowledgement when she crouched next to him. Heavy panting and fingers clawed into wild brown hair, he was the picture of desperation. He did not resist her as she moved his hands back down to his sides. He just sat there, with his eyes smashed shut. Somehow she knew the glow from before had returned despite this.

And then he wailed, low and heavy, like a dying animal, and she didn't stop to consider anything before uncapping the vile and pressing it against his lips. He gagged, and she could smell flowers and spices and a scent familiar to but not quite that of blood. There was choking and his eyes opened to prove her previous assumptions correct, but the liquid continued to drain from the glass and eventually there was nothing left. He didn't put up a fight, just stared as the so called "cure" was forced down his throat.

Moments passed after she had lowered the vial. He continued to shake, a drop of dark green hanging from his bottom lip, staring at her with those unnerving plates of gold.

And then a string of tension left him, like a wire being cut, and the hue melted to a more recognizable brown. A few flecks of gold winked from around his iris in a mock memorial to what had been there just seconds before. He let his eyelids close before she could see more, and his head pressed back against the wall in what she could only assume was relief.

"How do you feel?" she whispered.

He swallowed and tensed as he recognized her voice, "Strange," Hearing her concerned silence he continued, "But better. Much better." The feather curled into a smile, unforced and genuine, and she allowed her worries to dissipate.

"I'm glad." She said. "I don't know what I would've done if that hadn't worked." He nodded, then winced. "How's your head?"

"Hurts. Not nearly as much as before though."

"Good." Her knuckles brushed against his knee and he peaked one eye open. She smiled at the familiarity of them.

Swallowing again, he shifted his knee forward and moved his left hand into her own. There was no actual hand holding. Just contact, delicate and tentative, two hands the temperature of ice and death.

She pushed that idea away, silently hissing at her own pessimistic thoughts. This was a moment to enjoy. Nothing else.

Neither said anything, just basked in the other's company. It was night but the moon lit up the room just as well as any lightbulb, and the shadows blurred their features and softened the edges, increasing the surreality of it all. Only in this moment did Sarah truly allow herself to believe the potion had worked.

After what could have been a few minutes or a dozen, she said, "I was worried about you."

He frowned, "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" She brushed her thumb across his palm and he shivered.

He sighed, "I should've been more careful."

"You can't possibly blame yourself for this."

"I don't blame myself. I just…" he pulled back his hand and let his gaze travel to the ceiling. "I don't know."

There was opportunity for Sarah to ask a million questions in that moment, but she didn't pry. No matter what happened, she wouldn't push him. Not while everything was still so raw.

Another minute passed and she was standing up, holding out her hand, "Do you feel like heading downstairs?"

Something flickered in his eyes, an emotion too quick to catch, and then he took her hand and pulled himself up. "I guess."

Again, she ignored the fact that his hand was no longer warm.


	8. Grief

"Benny?"

"Yeah?"

"You can let go now."

"Oh." He reluctantly loosened his hold on Ethan, who was tensed from the contact but still smiling at his friend's enthusiasm.

The two stared at each other for a moment, both with similarly goofy smiles—Benny's just a tad more so—until Sarah decided the awkward situation was too much.

"Hey," she casually waved her hand in front of his, "do you know where your grandma is?"

Ethan's smile fell a bit before lifting once again, now more strained, as if held up by a couple strips of tape. Both his friends noticed but decided not to comment.

"I have no idea, she left after I gave you the potion," a quick glance in Ethan's direction, "but she didn't tell me where."

Sarah frowned, "We need to ask her more questions."

"Ah, well, maybe she went downstairs?"

"I'm right here." Ms. Weir announced as she sauntered into the room, an ancient spell book clasped in her left hand. "And well thought, Sarah. There are more intricacies to the potion I couldn't discuss given our, ah, timeframe. Ethan," her eyes had now latched onto him, "if I could perform a spell on you quickly, to ensure everything is in working order, it would be a great deal of help."

He fidgeted a bit, avoiding eye contact. "Yeah. Sure."

Nodding firmly, Benny's grandmother guided him to the living room. Oddly, Sarah noted, she never actually touched Ethan, simply gesturing around in the direction he should be going. Sharing one last glance with Benny, she followed the two into the room. Ms. Weir had him seated on the couch. If his stiff posture was anything to go by, the reluctance of his previous answer ran a bit deeper than anxiety at being addressed.

The spell turned out to by a type of monitor. Its purpose was to measure how much of his blood had been tainted and how much was still normal, or at the very least, relatively human. The older woman's countenance remained emotionless throughout the entire spell, giving away nothing as to what the results meant. All Sarah and Benny could see were varying shades of blue and purple light, depending on where she placed her hands, which was not a lot for them to gather information from.

Ethan was just as stoic, stubbornly refusing to say anything on the matter, not that Mrs. Weir was asking very many questions. His eyes were gazing far past anything she could see, and the smile had completely vanished. It made him appear rather depressed. Not that she could blame him, given the circumstances.

On the ride home, she couldn't decide which had been worse: the raw and wild gold that made him near unrecognizable, or the empty dark brown he had just displayed. After five minutes of increasing worry, she turned the radio to the station with the least static.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of fingertips on leather, aside from the soft breeze coming from the air conditioning unit, was the only sound in the living room. Ethan was sat restlessly on the same couch as he had been the previous day, with an added fidgeting nature. Benny had placed himself on the armchair with his laptop, but none of the usual web sites were holding his interest.

Tap. Tap.

Ethan had been sitting there since the strange "check-up" he had been given, courtesy of his grandma. Neither of the two had said a word since. In fact, his grandma had disappeared into the kitchen over two hours ago, leaving a disturbingly quiet pair of best friends to work out just what had happened.

Tap.

"Benny." Ethan whispered. He snapped his head up so fast, the whip lash left a sharp pain just behind his skull. This didn't really bother him, because this was the first time someone had talked in hours, and he did not do well when left to his own devices. Benny Weir was a social creature in nature, no doubt about that.

"What's up?"

His friend's eyes never left the window, "I can't go home."

"What?" That wasn't exactly what he had expected.

"It's too dangerous. I've been thinking about it, and we don't know for sure how much of the poison," he breathed the word so quietly Benny almost didn't hear it, "is still affecting me. Or when the effects might wear off. I don't think I could live with myself if anything happened to them."

If this was the kind of thing that had been running through Ethan's mind, then Benny really needed to work on his optimism department. The guy had a tendency towards the cynical side of life. Not that what had happened in the past few days wasn't worthy of a little pessimism, but still.

"Well, you can't just hide yourself in your room all the time. They'll get suspicious if you don't come down for dinner or anything." He closed his laptop.

"I know, but being alone with all of them in one house," he scrunched up his nose, "I couldn't trust myself."

Benny sighed. "Ethan, I know you. You would never hurt them."

"Are you sure about that?" They were now looking directly at one another and a distinct lump had materialized in his throat.

"Ethan—"

"He's right, sweetheart." Benny scowled at her interruption, before schooling his features. She gave him a firm look before padding into the room and toting a couple of plates with a motherly smile. "Even I don't know how stable the potion is. I'm allowing him to go to school, as long as you and Sarah are there, but for the next few months I've prepared him a room to stay in."

His chest constricted and filled with anger despite himself, "So you're not going to let him stay with his family?"

The tapping had stopped.

"Like Ethan has said, there is no definite way to be sure how he will act in every situation. Staying with his family might upset him further. Besides," she set the plates down on the coffee table, "although the effects have been subdued, they haven't disappeared entirely. There are going to be some side effects, not to mention he also needs to adjust to becoming a vampire." Ethan cringed at this but stayed silent.

He tried to disguise his pity as he studied his friend, who had curled slightly in on himself during the explanation. The reasoning was fair, but locking Ethan away in here and constantly monitoring him like that? It didn't feel right.

"Now," she waved her hands towards the dishes that had been placed between the two. Benny stared hungrily at a bowl of creamy tomato soup and a couple pieces of toast, "I'd like you to try and eat some of this food."

Ethan stared listlessly at the food and then back at Benny's grandma. "But I'm not hungry."

"That's never stopped me!" Benny had already stuffed a piece of bread in his mouth, basking in the flavor of melted butter. He hadn't eaten for at least twelve hours and was only just then getting the pangs that usually accompanied his appetite. Food was a constant companion in times like these.

"I'd like you to try some." She encouraged, ignoring her grandson's table manners. "At the very least a bite of toast."

A wordless argument occurred between the two before he eventually nodded, some hair falling over his eyes as he reached down for a piece of toast. Cautiously, his teeth tugged at the bread, chewing rhythmically before swallowing, all at a slow and reluctant pace. Benny was certain at least part of his friend's anxiety was due to the fact that his grandma was practically beaming through him with her eyes.

He took a few more bites and seemed satisfied enough to consider himself done, much to his grandmother's chagrin. Benny grinned before he found himself once again enjoying his own food. The soup had been neglected and Benny wasn't cruel enough to just abandon the poor meal, although the toast wasn't ignored either. Ever since he was little, his grandma had taken to making her own bread, kneading and baking the dough with the same hands that cast spells of healing and music. He'd never been able to prove it, but there was something uncanny about his grandma's bread. Even more so when toasted and covered in a slab of creamy goodness.

The euphoria of the meal was broken by a harsh hacking sound. Ethan now bent over the ground with his nails digging into the carpet, retching up the food he had just eaten with a less than appealing expression. The coughing was forced and grated, giving him the impression that it was not a painless experience.

His grandmother tutted to herself, "I was afraid that might happen."

"Then why did you give him the food?" he seethed.

She didn't answer, but instead kneeled down and rubbed circles rhythmically in his back, acting indifferent to the half-digested soup and bread now decorating her carpet. Benny's stomach dropped as he distinguished another substance amidst the mess. Blood.

Ethan's blood was, for lack of a better word, mesmerizing. What normally would be a dull scarlet, now glowed with streaks of gold intertwined with red in a strange pattern of swirls that faintly reminded him of the mandalas his grandmother used to color with him as a child. He stared queasily at the venom mixed in with his friend's insides, trying not to let his own join the party.

If he had been unsure about the Caravelus taking over Ethan's bloodstream before, the doubt had completely dissipated. The poison wasn't just in his blood; it was part of it.

With his attention turning back to Ethan, the dejection only grew. His eyes were clenched shut in what he could only assume was pain, and a faint luminescence was trying to escape through the cracks. Peering from beneath his upper lip were two sharp daggers that Benny had never imagined on his friend. Even now it seemed dream-like.

As he watched Ethan, keeled over and in agony, the severity of the previous events enveloped him and dragged the moisture from his eyes down to his chin. It felt selfish almost, to be frozen when Ethan obviously needed comfort, but he couldn't help himself. He was afraid.


	9. Symptoms

It was another two days before Ethan returned to school. Sarah wasn't sure on the specifics, as Ms. Weir had suggested she give Ethan some space, but she knew that Benny's grandma was trying to develop a type of blood substitute for Ethan. Apparently that had proved more difficult that they'd originally thought.

When Sarah laid eyes on Ethan that morning she wasn't sure what to feel. He looked better, definitely, compared to how sick he had been when she had last seen him, but he was so blatantly depressed she could almost feel it herself.

He was wearing a hoodie-big surprise there-and his head was dipped towards the ground in order to avoid the sun. Benny smiled but his nervous glances betrayed his anxiety, while Ethan seemed lost in his own thoughts. He seemed so different from his usual self. What really struck her, though, was the way he moved.

It had never occurred to her that everyone walked in a different way, or at least, it hadn't been enough to warrant her attention. Looking at Ethan she could vividly remember the awkward but controlled way he moved. Now he was tense but graceful, similar to the smooth gait of a wild horse. Where there was normally a soft smile, a stoic expression lay. Flecks of gold still swirled around his irises. These small differences that seemed so insignificant before had now completely changed him to someone she almost didn't recognize.

She didn't manage to catch up to them until they were opening their lockers, which gave her a limited amount of time to talk.

"Good morning, fine day isn't it?" Benny quipped as she approached. His voice was light and trilling, with an obvious amount of strain.

She rolled her eyes anyways, upholding the charade, "Absolutely splendid."

Benny's face cracked into a grin, contrasting with the gray bags beneath his eyes. She tried to ignore them.

"Hey." Ethan's voice was quiet and half-hearted, but when she turned to look at him his lips were curled into a familiar soft smile. Her shoulders relaxed.

"Oh," Sarah began ruffling through her bag, "while you were gone I managed to get you some of the missing work." pulling out a slim stack of papers, she managed to place them in Ethan's hands without letting one slip.

"I totally spaced that." Benny whined, "Though we didn't have a lot of work in any of our classes this past week."

"Luckily. Usually when I miss a day I'll come back and there will be five tests I have to make up." Sarah sighed a tad too dramatically, but neither of them commented.

Ethan grasped the papers and slid them into his bag in one fluid motion, carefully so as not to wrinkle them. "Thanks, I forgot about that too."

There was an awkward lapse of silence. Those seemed to be happening a lot lately.

Benny shut his locker, "So..."

"Hey guys! Check it out, they're having a bake sale in the cafeteria. They have triple chocolate brownies!" Rory waved his arms in emphasis, " _Triple chocolate_."

'Oh Crap', Sarah cursed silently to herself. Erica was getting back from her vacation today and she had no idea what had happened. She hadn't told Rory either, and Benny hadn't either as far as she was aware, although she had a feeling Rory wouldn't fully grasp the depth of what had happened. The experience wasn't one that could be conveyed through simple words.

At the mention of the bake sale Ethan grimaced, earning him a confused stare from Rory. "You okay? Hey, where were you the past few days?"

Benny's eyes widened as he came to the same realization as she had. Both their friends were completely oblivious to Ethan's dilemma.

Ethan turned his eyes to the ground, which seemed to have become a new habit of his.

Rory shrugged and turned towards Sarah, "Isn't Erica getting back from Ontario today?"

"Erica was in Ontario?" Benny exclaimed, "She told me she was going to Las Vegas."

"She's actually visiting her grandma on the coast," Sarah spoke, "or at least that's what she told me."

"I was on the coast." A familiar voice spoke lazily behind her, "I just didn't want this creep stalking me on his phone." Sarah turned to see Erica jerking a thumb in Rory's direction, a clueless smile plastered on his face.

"Good call." Benny laughed.

Ethan smiled slightly as well, which boosted her mood. Even though he immediately turned back towards the floor.

Erica shoved a few strands of blonde from her face, "So, what did I miss?" She glanced around their group, eyes lingering on Benny and Ethan. "You guys seem oddly tense."

"Didn't know you paid attention to us." Benny joked.

"I don't. But your geeky little friend looks like he wants to murder the ground."

At her words Ethan looked back up nervously, still avoiding eye contact. His hands were shoved into his pockets and his frame seemed painfully tense. The attention was obviously not in his favor.

"I'm going to go use the restroom." he muttered.

Erica and Rory exchanged confused glances as he stepped away. "What's gotten him so worked up?" Rory said.

"Erm..." Benny shifted on his feet, "That's a complicated story. Also long." They stared at him. "Very long."

"I'd rather not hear it." Sarah internally flinched at her friend's crudeness, "I'd rather know why _you_ ,"she was now turned to look at Sarah, "didn't so much as text me once in the past five days. I thought we had an agreement."

Sarah sighed before responding, "Something happened." At Benny's raised eyebrow she added, "Something important. But I can't tell you right now. Let's meet in the library at lunch."

"It better be pretty important then, I had plans today. Rick Jorgenson shaped plans." She smirked.

"Just come, please. You too, Rory." Benny begged exasperatingly. Rory flashed him a thumbs up.

oOo

Sarah hesitated before telling Ethan about their meeting in the library, figuring Benny would most likely tell him anyway. Then it occurred to her that they didn't have any periods together until after lunch and so she reluctantly told him the time. She didn't bother explaining what it was about. Ethan gave her a knowing glance when she'd informed him, though how he felt about the topic she couldn't read.

He seemed to be closing off his emotions. When he wasn't expressionless and distancing himself from everyone he was tense and full of anxiety, which seemed to leap off of him in waves, snagging on the corner of the walls and trailing behind him. There were moments where it almost felt like nothing had happened, when he'd smile and laugh no differently than before, but then she would look back and he'd be staring out the window forlornly with the complexion of a whipped puppy, and her concern would come back in full force.

Sarah only had one class with him before lunch, but it was obvious when she passed Benny in the hall he had observed the same behavior during the brief reconciliations between classes. Her pressing worries stayed glued to her mind past fourth period, and by the time she found herself in the library for lunch her nerves were jumbled and mumbling incoherently. Benny would have to do most of the speaking this time.

Ethan was already there when she arrived, perched on the end of a table with his elbow rested on one knee. He seemed a bit calmer in this environment, probably because there were so few people. Maybe she should come here more often.

"Alright, I'm here." Erica droned lamely beside her.

For a moment, Sarah felt an odd pang of nostalgia for the old Erica. The one who had placed random TV show characters in unlikely relationships and obsessed over every little detail, sometimes purely for the fun of it, often dragging Sarah around to conventions and movie premieres with an innocent and cheerful smile. That girl disappeared a long time ago.

She would be lying to herself if she said she hadn't change after being turned either, although Jesse's controlling nature was partially to blame in that instance. If she hadn't ignored Erica from the start, however, maybe she wouldn't have been so reckless that night. Perhaps she even would have been able to dissuade her from going to the party in the first place.

She flinched as her thoughts returned to Ethan and the way he was acting. If anyone was going to change after being turned—and still her mind revolted at the very idea—it would be him, and yet she couldn't help but hope his personality would remain.

Sarah realized Erica had been speaking to her when a pair of familiar nails snapped impatiently before her nose, "I said: where are the other two musketeers? Come on Sare, you're almost as bad as geek number one over there." Erica nodded exasperatingly towards Ethan, whose empty eyes stared listlessly out the dusted window.

"They should be here in a second." Sarah said, trying to ignore the all too obvious changes to her friend.

"Speak of the Vampire Ninja and he shall appear!"

She flinched at the grating voice that echoed in her ears. There was one.

A rustling and stomping sounded from the hallway as Benny burst into the library, "Rory, wait for me!" His shouting earned a harsh glare from the librarian. And there was two.

Erica rolled her eyes, "Don't make me regret coming here."

"Right." Benny laid his backpack on a scuffed up wooden table, "Where's Ethan?"

Sarah pointed towards their brooding friend. His half-brushed hair was turned to away from the group as he looked out the window into the parking lot. "Hey E! Over here!" Rory shouted. This time the librarian loudly shushed them before turning back to her book, but he had managed to gain Ethan's attention.

"Hmm?" a soft hum escaped as he approached them, still not making eye contact. He wasn't even trying to act normal, although part of her was almost certain his mind wasn't focused on blending in at all.

Benny gave his friend a short, worried glance before clapping his hands together, quietly enough not to invoke the librarian's wrath. "Alright, now that we're all here, it's time I explain everything."

Rory raised his hand. "Is it a nice story?"

Benny's half-smirk turned into a frown. "No. Not really."

"So are you going to tell us or not? I don't have all day." Erica groaned impatiently. Sarah resisted the urge to smack her.

"Yeah. Just let me figure out how to explain it all." Benny's earlier vigor seemed to have left him, as his tone was one of the most serious she'd ever heard from him. Erica appeared to have noticed this as well, because her eyes were now focused and attentive. Regardless, Benny forced another grin.

A moment passed where he collected himself, before eventually placing his hands on the table. His eyes reached out towards Ethan's and the two communicated through their eyes in the way only close friends and family were able to, until finally he braced his shoulders and began.

The story started off with a brief recollection of the time leading up to and directly after what he had humbly coined "the attack." Every few minutes he would pause briefly as if to allow Ethan to interject, only for silence to take his place. When the tale reached the moment where Ethan had briefly lost control, Erica and Rory snapped their attention towards Ethan with a mixture of shock and pity. Not so much of a flinch of response came from Ethan.

Benny then continued to the past few day's occurences, which she had not been privy to herself. They mainly consisted of his grandmother running a series of tests on Ethan, as well as his return to a state of semi-normality. Through his descriptions and excessive use of hand gestures, she was able to learn the following:

As far as vampiric traits went, Ethan either reacted with hyper sensitivity or barely responded at all. For example, the sun didn't burn him nearly as much, but still did enough damage to be considered irritating. Garlic also had no effect; although this didn't matter when taking into account the fact Ethan could no longer eat or drink any normal (human) foods, excluding water.

Benny didn't mention what happened when Ethan had consumed his meals, but the grimace on his face did not appear promising.

On the other hand, holy objects had a more noticeable effect, although Benny wouldn't go into much detail on the subject. His posture spoke volumes about his opinions on his grandmother's "tests," and she decided it was best not to push the matter.

His observations were mainly about how things reacted to Ethan, and not so much about his friend's actual emotional state throughout the whole ordeal. Even his recount of the period of which Ethan had been 'sick' was brief and the details vague, painting him in a soft light, but she made no attempt to correct him.

By the end of Benny's explanation, Sarah was clearly able to read the opinion's beneath her friends' faces. Rory displayed mainly concern, with a shocking level of solemnity, while Erica's nodded more towards the area of reluctant belief.

Throughout the entire situation Ethan hadn't moved his position in the slightest. The only noticeable difference was the shine of gold ringing his irises, which stood out against the dark fabric of his hood. His appearance did not go unnoticed by the rest of them.

"So." Erica started, ignoring Ethan's change, "He came here to get revenge?"

"I'm sure he also didn't want Stern to use the Lucifractor." Sarah managed to find her voice, which was surprisingly steady. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ethan lift his head, "Knowing him he was probably waiting for a chance to come here without drawing attention to himself. The situation was convenient."

Another long lapse of silence where the rest appeared to chew and swallow her explanation. This was starting to get annoying.

Rory was the one to break the tension, "So, is that why you didn't want brownies earlier?"

Erica sighed.

oOo

This chapter is dedicated to the anons screaming "UPDATE" in my inbox. I have received your messages and have responded accordingly. I do not have a beta and was only able to review this twice so I apologize for any errors.


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